Month 12!!!! (And 13)

How old?

In true second child fashion, this poor kid didn't get a 12 month blog post.  You know, the big year milestone one?  Yup.  So today we are doing an oops guess I should round out the year post but really you are over 13 months now.

Height/Weight

It has been so long since his 12 month appointment I forgot.  I think he was in the 75th for height and like the 30th for weight. 

He is mostly wearing 12 and 18 month clothes now

Milestones:

So much to cover and probably so much forgotten, but here are the highlights:

He started walking about 1 week before his birthday, and he hasn't looked back since.  This kid is almost  running now.  I love this toddler phase.  His little walk has earned him the new nickname of P-Rex

P-Rex (ok confession, trying to make the transition to his new nickname, sorry for the confusion.  Panini was his in utero nickname but now that he has a little personality starting to bud he has gained a new one + it fits so nicely with Zilla), is getting better at doing shape sorters.  Still does not identify the correct hole himself, but is getting better at doing more shapes than just a circle. 

He is still our little climber! Sometimes I am genuinely impressed with his skills; though also terrified.

He is able to throw and "kick" balls. 

He is eating so much better!! 

He is talking a little more.  Definitely has Momma, Dada, Bubba, Night night "na na", Hi "iiiii", and No down.  He also says "Doe" when Boots is around and I think he is saying dog.  When he is done with his meal, he will say "Da Doe" and move his hands to say all done.  He understands quite a bit and even follow simple commands like "go get the ball" "give bubba a kiss kiss" etc.  Speaking of which.  His kiss kiss is starting to develop into more of a kiss and less of a face lick, so that's nice.  He is pointing to things more and making kind of a yeaaa? noise as if he is asking what it is. He likes to make airplane and car noises and does rudimentary pretend play with cars and airplane toys.

Baby's Routine:

Typically he will wake around 6am. Unless he eats at like 4:30am, then he will go back to sleep until about 7 am ish.  Then he will stay awake until noon and then go down for a nap.  He seems to be napping well at school, but on weekends we usually end up doing a stroller run for his nap or I will nurse and hold him during his nap.  Then he's usually up until about 8pm and fairly reliably will become fussy right at 8 to let us know he is tired.  He is definitely not sleeping through the night reliably, but occasioanlly he give his momma a break. 

On weekdays, it feels like all he wants to do is nurse in the evenings, which still makes cooking and doing anything else a bit of a challenge.  But weekends, when he has more access to me throughout the day, nursing is more evenly spread.

Favorite Food:

It may still be milk, BUT he is so much better at eating solids too.  He likes pasta, meat pies (a turkey mini meatloaf with butternut squash), and cheese the most I think.  But he is usually willing to try anything now, as long as you don't try to feed it to him. He definitely prefers independence in the feeding department.  As much as I try, he does not seem to like avocado much.

Favorite Activity:

Gosh, I don't know.  He likes so much!  Maybe climbing? He really seems to enjoy things like puzzles and shape sorters more than Zilla ever did. He also enjoys being pulled around on the firetruck.

Favorite Toy:

Cars

Big changes:

The biggest change is that about two weeks after his birthday, I decided to stop going to the daycare to feed him.  This was primarily because he started to have pretty bad meltdowns when I would leave in the afternoons and it was tearing me apart. I only cried a little on the last day going there. I am also only pumping twice a day now, so the excess milk has definitely gone down.  I made what I think will be my final milk donation, bringing the total donated to about 800 oz total + about 70 oz to a friend.

Zilla and P-Rex

Still love watching these two play together.  There are more arguments with increased fighting over toys.  On the other hand, they have started to really play together recently.  Like, they will disappear into Zilla's room for 30 minutes and I will just hear squeals and laughs as they enjoy their time just being brothers without momma there setting rules.  Of course, I peek in every now and then to make sure they are safe, but I like giving them their space.  It is the very sweetest.  I love that P-Rex is walking now, because now he and Zilla can walk around holding hands, which is the cutest!

And some more just because pictures:

We had a Puppy Paw-ty for P-Rex's birthday and had a wonderful time with friends and family!

 I don't know why people advise not going big on a first birthday party.  Obviously this kid is going to remember everything from that day:

It has been the most incredible year!  I have seen our first son grow and love in a way that makes me melt, I have gained a second son who truly lights up our life with his optimism and charm, and hubskie and I have grown as parents and as a couple.  P-Rex, we love you so much!  I can't wait to see what year two brings!